


One Last Night

by TheWriterTriad



Series: Splatoon Oneshots [5]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Ghosts, Horror, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 06:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15551376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriterTriad/pseuds/TheWriterTriad
Summary: A pair of curious octolings explore a turf war stadium and end up encountering something unexpected.





	One Last Night

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in memory of Rebel, my close friend who passed away in March of 2018. 
> 
> Rest in peace, Rebel. I miss you so much.
> 
> Shads

Darkness blanketed the city, rendering almost any attempts at seeing things useless. Thick clouds covered the stars and turned the bright full moon into a pale and watery orb. It was warm out, courtesy of the fact that the season of summer was upon them. If it hadn’t been for the clouds, it would have been a nice evening to go on a stroll. There were few residents of the city out and about at this time, including a pair of octolings.

“Come on Lunasa,” one of them, the male, said. “Where are we going?”

“Don’t worry Tavio,” Lunasa replied, a grin on her face. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“You know I hate surprises...and it’s late, we should be back at home.”

“It’s not that late,” she protested. “Eleven at night isn’t late. We’ve stayed up later all the time.”

“Yeah, at our homes playing video games with each other. Not wandering the city! We barely know our way around here anyway.”

Lunasa sighed and shook her head. Why on earth Tavio was so fearful was beyond her. Sometimes it seemed like he was scared of everything that walked the earth. It was normal to be afraid of some things, true, but the male octoling’s fears seemed to be a bit extreme. Hopefully, that wouldn’t mess things up tonight.

The teenager continued to make her way through the city, occasionally glancing backward to ensure that her friend hadn’t chickened out and left. So far so good, the crimson-tentacled boy was still behind her. A terrified expression was on his face. Suddenly there was a loud clattering noise coming from a nearby alley, causing Tavio to let out a startled screech. Moments later a small raccoon ran out from the path, a half-eaten piece of meat between its jaws.

“It must have been digging in a trash can and knocked it over,” Lunasa said before looking over at Tavio. He was shaking like a leaf, his face pale from fright. “Oh, don’t go worrying your pretty little head off. It’s just a raccoon.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that,” he demanded aghast. “It could have been a robber! You know that creepy street urchin lurks around these parts.”

“Spyke? He’s harmless.”

“Yeah right…” Tavio shuddered at the thought of encountering the older teenager. He was a sinister looking fellow, always present with those snails of his and a screwdriver to pry them out of the shells. There was a bit of an exotic flair to his clothing, as ragged and tattered as they were. Something about the poncho he wore and the rug he sat on seemed to hint at a foreign culture, and his flirtatious manner of speaking certainly didn’t help things either. Overall, he thoroughly creeped the male octoling out, and the teen hoped that they wouldn’t run into the urchin tonight.

“Oh quit being such a worrywart,” his companion scoffed, coming to a stop in front of a large and imposing building. “Besides, we’re here.”

“Um…” Tavio glanced skyward, taking in the building. It was tall, easily three or four stories high. The walls were gracefully curved around a central square tower that stood just slightly higher than the rest of the building. Perhaps at one point or another, it was a pretty place, but now it was dingy and rundown. Graffiti covered the walls, with only a haphazard effort made to wipe it away sometime in the distant past. The glass doors in front were smudged, with a few of them covered in plywood. A sign out front carved from stone was chipped and cracked, some of the letters almost completely gone.

“...Museum D’alfonsino? What’s this place?”

“A museum.”

“No, seriously.” Tavio rolled his amber eyes. “I had no idea. It couldn’t possibly be a museum. And why’d you drag me out here to see this anyway? It’s obviously closed for good. I mean, look at the condition the building is in.”

“Yeah, I know it’s closed,” the girl replied, a mischievous grin on her face. “After Shellendorf Institute opened up this place lost a lot of business and eventually closed up for good. But we’re not here for the art, we’re here to check out the turf war stadium.”

“...Why? Couldn’t we explore in the morning?”

“Nope.” Lunasa pulled one of the pieces of plywood aside, revealing a small jagged hole in the bottom of one of the doors. “Come on, we’re wasting moonlight.”

With that, she slipped into her octopus form and hopped through the gap. Tavio blinked, a bit surprised at her actions, before paling.

“Wait,” he cried in protest. “Isn’t this breaking the law?”

“Who’s going to care? It’s not like this place is active anymore. I doubt the security cameras are even on. Now quit worrying and get in here! We don’t have much time before midnight.”

“...What’s so special about midnight?”

“You’ll see. Come on, let’s go! You won’t regret this I promise!”

“I don’t think this is a good idea…” Tavio glanced around, hesitant to go any further. “We’re already breaking and entering…and it’s freaky out here. I want to go home.”

“If you come with me, I’ll buy you that new Cephalobeats Deluxe game you wanted,” Lunasa said, a sly look on her face. “And I’ll not ask you to do anything crazy for a week.”

“Eh….” Tavio shuffled his feet, nervousness warring with his desire for that new game. He only had a small number of coins available for buying things aside from the necessities, but if Lunasa was willing to buy that game for him...well, that would mean he wouldn’t have to save his money for several more months. Plus, she was offering to not drag him off on another weird and fanatical adventure. That was something he couldn’t pass up, despite his better judgment.

“Alright...but you better not go back on your word,” he muttered before slipping into his octopus form and sliding through the hole.

It was dark inside, only a few beams of light breaking through the dirty and shattered windows. Cobwebs and dust piled up everywhere, lingering in the corners and broken display cases. It was pretty musty and damp inside, the scent of mold causing the pair of octolings to wrinkle their noses in disgust.

“Next time you want to drag me off somewhere, take me someplace clean,”  Tavio gagged.

“Oh, quit being a big baby,” Lunasa retorted, though the effect was spoiled by the unpleasant look on her face. “It should be cleaner further in. Come on let’s go.”

“Further in?”

“Mmhm.” The pair began to walk through the desecrated museum. “That’s where the arena was located.”  
  
“Oh come on,” Tavio muttered, rolling his eyes. “We could go to any turf war stadium, why do we have to break in to this one?”  
  
“Because this one has a ghost in it.”

“Wait, _what?_ ”

“Yep. Well, two ghosts anyway.”

“Nope nope, nopity-nope nope nope I am out of here!” Tavio made a break for the entrance, only for his friend to stop him. “This ain’t worth going through for a game!”

“I’ll buy you another one of your choice,” Lunasa pleaded. “And I won’t pester you for a whole month!”

“You can’t pay me enough to deal with ghosts!”

“Mmkay well, I’ll just drag you then. Come on let’s go!”

“H-hey!” The red-tentacled boy let out a yelp as his friend grabbed onto his arm. Swiftly she began to drag him down the hallway, following the faded directions on the wall. “No fair, you’re older and taller than me! Not to mention stronger!”

“Well,” the older teenager retorted with a grin, “maybe you should use a dynamo roller if you want to build some muscles. That memestick of yours is way too light.”

“For the hundredth, thousandth time, it’s not called a memstick,” Tavio whined. “It’s the bamboozler MK II, a charger-class weapon. And I use the squiffer as well, that's what I brought with me tonight.”

“It looks goofy, it’s the only sniper that requires two fully charged shots to splat someone, and it goes pew pew pew whenever you fire it. It’s a memestick. And who can take a weapon called the squiffer seriously?”

“Neither of them are goofy! And let go of me!

“Can’t hear you,” Lunasa practically sang as she dragged him into a large open room. They were on a balcony overlooking the large turf war battlefield. It must have been a pretty place sometime in the past, back when it was still in use. Thick glass display cases, surprisingly in good condition, were set into the walls. They were empty, but once had housed art. Light streamed in from above, the result of the entire roof being made out of glass. Deep canals surrounded the arena, the pristine blue water that used to fill them long since drained away. What little remained was dark and muddy, choked by weeds that had long since taken root. Pedestals with statues were positioned around the perimeter of the room, most of them empty. Only two remained, remarkably in excellent condition. While the rest of the room was in a state of decay, these two statues looked to have been freshly cleaned.

It was quite odd, really. There was no reason for them to have been left behind. Most of the exhibits were either in storage or had been shipped off to Shellendorf Institute. Yet these two, which had to have some sort of significance given their size and excellent craftsmanship, were abandoned. Nothing about that made sense.

“Let’s go!” Lunasa hopped over the railing, dragging Tavio with her. They landed near one of the old locations of the spawn points.  All of the mechanical devices had long since been ripped out, leaving a jagged hole in the floor. Tavio wandered over to examine it until his friend sighed and tapped her foot impatiently.

“Okay, we have ten minutes until midnight,” she announced after checking the time. “Here’s the scoop. Supposedly at midnight, you can hear the ghosts start to laugh. We’re splitting up - you’ll search this half of the map, I’ll search the other half. Try to find where the laughter’s coming from, and get a recording if you can. And if you see anything paranormal, let me know immediately. You cool with what we’re doing or need me to run through things again?”

“I’m not cool with this at all!

“Okay, perfect. Happy ghost hunting!”

Lunasa!“ She ignored his outraged cry and super jumped away, no doubt heading for the other spawn point. Tavio groaned before looking around. He was already creeped out by this place, and now that he was alone that feeling was only magnified. Whimpering, the teen began to slowly inch forward, amber eyes darting back and forth to try and scope out the place. He wasn’t looking for any ghosts though. Instead, Tavio was trying to find an exit.

“So far so good…” he mumbled, hesitantly walking forward. “No ghosts…”

_“Heh heh heh heh…”_

“Eek!” Tavio lept behind a box, curling up into a ball, shivering. The museum fell silent again, save for his panicked breathing. After a few moments, the teenager poked his head out. There was a terrified look on his face as he looked around. No one, or nothing, was in sight. Hesitantly the boy crept out, trembling.

“Man...I just want to go home...wait a minute, is that…?” He trailed off, noticing something down at the other end of his half of the room. There, by the large statue, appeared to be a door, and a look of relief formed on his face.

“Ha-ha! Yes! I am out of here,” he cheered before running towards it. Once he drew closer, however, he realized it was merely a faded decorative panel on the wall. Frowning in disbelief, he came to a stop by the statue and groaned.

“No…”

_“Heh heh heh heh…”_

“Ah!” He flinched, stumbling backward and falling to the ground. “Wh-who...wh-who’s there?”

_“Heh heh heh heh...ah hah hah hah hah...come to me boy…”_

“Aieeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

* * *

“Nothing yet…” Lunasa sighed as she looked around her half of the arena. With a groan the girl checked her phone again, trying to see what time it was. “One minute to midnight...almost there…”

_“Tee hee~ Who’re you peep?”_

“Um...h-huh?” Despite herself, Lunasa felt a bit of fear grip her heart in an icy grasp. Sure she had come here looking for ghosts, but she hadn’t actually expected them to be there.”Is someone there?”

_“Yeppers! I’m here!”_

“Where?” The fuschia-tentacled girl looked around in confusion, only to pale as she spotted a transparent inkling sitting on top of the large statue. She was waving, a large grin on her face.

_“Right here, peep! You can see me, right? Who’re you?_

“U-um...yeah, I can see you.” Trying to suppress her fear, the octoling slowly approached the statue. “Are you dead?”

_“Yeah, sadly.”_ The ghost blew a raspberry before crossing her arms and pouting childishly. _“Let me tell you it wasn’t my idea! Oh wait, you haven’t told me your name! Tee hee, silly Rebecca! That’s me by the way!”_

“Ah, right. I’m Lunasa. It’s nice to meet you…?”

_“Ooh, pretty name!”_ Suddenly Rebecca warped right in front of her, way too close for comfort. At this distance Lunasa could see that the inkling’s tentacles were a pale yellow, the color leached out of them by death. Brown eyes with a sparkle of mischief sized up the octoling, and the teen was wearing some fresh looking gear. The look was completed by a splat roller strapped across her back.

_“Will you be my friend? It’s been a long time since I’ve had a friend. No one comes to play with me anymore...I’ve been lonely.”_

“Oh...that’s sad…” Lunasa’s shoulders slumped. She could empathize with the girl’s feelings. “...I’ll be your friend then.”

_“Really? Yayers!”_ Rebecca jumped up and down in excitement before squashing the octoling in a bone-crushing hug. For a dead girl, she was surprisingly solid.

“Ah! C-can’t...breathe!”

_“Oh, whoopsie!”_ The inkling let go, allowing the octoling to crumple to the floor and gasp for air. _“Sorry about that!”_

“It’s all good…” Lunasa groaned out before shaking her head. “How’d you end up here anyway?”

_“...I was doing a turf war here, right before the Square opened up,”_ Rebecca explained, plopping down on the floor next to her friend. A morose look adorned her face, somewhat unsettling given her normally cheerful demeanor. _“It was just a normal day, you know? But well...there was a problem with the respawn pads. I and another girl had taken each other out, we were the first splats of the game. We never respawned so…”_

“So you died,” Lunasa summed up before frowning. “Wait, if that’s the case, then what happened to the other girl.”

_“She’s-”_

_“Heh heh...I’m right here!”_

Both of the girls’ eyes widened, and they turned around to be met with an unexpected sight. Tavio was there, but he was acting funny. The teen was kind of slumped over where he stood, a vacant look on his face. His stunning amber eyes were glazed over, the pupils dilated so much they could barely be seen. A strange blue mist swirled around his feet, occasionally climbing up to wrap around his legs and arm.  Floating next to him was another ghost, though this one wasn’t as friendly looking.

She had a stern, malicious look on her face, and was holding a grim range blaster in her hand. The gear she was clad in lent her the appearance of an army general, and her height allowed her tower over all that were present. Unlike the paleness of Rebecca’s ghost, this one seemed darker, a bit less washed out. This allowed her midnight blue tentacles, fiery red eyes, and dark skin to appear solid. If it hadn’t been for her freaky ghost powers and the fact that the edges of her body seemed hazy and drifted in and out of focus, she could’ve been any other normal inkling.

_“What do you want Indira,”_ Rebecca asked, rolling her eyes.

_“This one told me that there was another one of the living,”_ Indira replied, gesturing at the now mute Tavio. _“I figured that I’d get another plaything to entertain myself with. Well, for as long as they remain alive in here anyway”_

“What did you do to him?” Lunasa’s blood boiled, her hands clenching into fists. Indira chuckled darkly, a smirk on her face.

_“You living fools are so easy to possess.”_

“Let him go,” she growled.

_“Heh, no way, girl,”_ Indira sneered before redirecting her attention to Rebecca. _“Maybe I’ll use you octolings to get back at her. After all, she is the one who is responsible for our state._ ”

_“Excuse me, but you splatted me at the same time I splatted you,”_ the yellow-tentacled inkling protested. _“And it’s not like I knew that the respawn pads weren’t working. No one could have known what would happen.”_

_“What a pathetic excuse,”_ Indira growled, the mist swirling a bit faster. Almost as if in response, Tavio stood a bit more upright, pulling his squiffer out. He held it threateningly, pointing it at Rebecca and Lunasa.

_“Wait,”_ Rebecca held up a hand, trying to de-escalate the situation. _“I’ve got an idea. We never did finish that turf war, did we.”_

_“Of course not, idiot,”_ the other ghost replied. _“We died, remember?”_

_“Yeah well, there’s four of us now. We can split into teams of two. If your team wins, then you get the two octolings. But if my team wins you have to release the boy from your control and let them go. Sound fair?”_

“H-hey! I have several objections to this plan!”

_“Deal,”_ Indira smirked before drifting over to Lunasa, grabbing her chin so she could examine the girl’s face. _“Hmmm, now aren’t you a pretty one? I’m going to enjoy playing with you once I claim you as my prize. Come, boy. We have a turf war to win.”_

She let go of Lunasa’s face and turned around, beckoning for Tavio to follow her. He did so without question, ignoring his friend’s desperate cries for him to come back. With a swirl of mist, the pair vanished, teleporting to one of the spawn pads.

_“Sorry…”_ Rebecca mumbled as the pair headed for their own spawn point. _“That was the only way I could think of to stop her from possessing you outright.”_

“Ugh...guess I have no choice,” Lunasa mumbled before unstrapping her dynamo roller from her back. “What are our chances of winning? I don’t want to be possessed.”

_“Eh...I’d say we have a fifty-fifty shot,”_ she mused. _“How good of a shot is that octoling with the squiffer?”_

“He’s a great shot…unfortunately...two long ranged weapons against our short ranged weapons...we’re pretty screwed, aren’t we?”

_“No, we’re not. Relax, I was one of the best roller users in the city back when I was alive. Rely on stealth to survive, okay?”_

“Yeah...okay.” Lunasa nodded and gripped her roller tightly. “Let’s win this thing.”

Suddenly a burst of mist flew up into the sky, coming from the other spawn point. Lunasa jumped, but Rebecca grinned and darted off the spawn point.

_“That’s the starting signal, let’s go!”_

“Ah...Right!”  

_“Be careful. There aren't any spawn points here so if you or your friend get splatted, then you’ll end up in the same situation that Indira and I are in.”_

“Well that’s a comforting thought,” Lunasa mumbled dryly. “So focus on taking out that ghost?”

_“Yeah, do that and then we can focus on turfing the ground. That’s our best chance to win.”_

Lunasa nodded before running off to the right, hoping to take the faster route to the middle. Rebecca took the more leisurely path, swinging her roller left and right to spread ink on their platform. It was a turf war, after all, and now that the rotating platforms were broken there was no way for the other team to reach up there.

Indira and Tavio had a different plot, namely to take out their opponents. If they killed Lunasa then effectively they would win the fight.

_“Remember, take out the live one,”_ Indira hissed. Tavio nodded before hopping into the center and charging up his squiffer. He instantly began looking around, trying to spot the other octoling. Seeing no one, he shrugged and began to ink the turf. Once his back was turned, Lunasa dropped down and snuck up behind him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn’t help but grin and carefully nudge him with the metal part of her roller.

“Heh heh,” she giggled. “Boop!”

Tavio stiffened before turning around, a menacing look on his face. Lunasa grinned and waved at him before diving back into her ink, vanishing without a trace. It was good that she was so quick, for not even a moment later a large ball of ink struck the ground where the octoling had been standing. Indira’s ghost floated down moments later, a peeved look on her face.

_“What a sad, pathetic sap,”_ she hissed before glaring at Tavio. _“Treating this as a mere game like the fool she is. And as for you, do not let her get away next time. This is a turf war, not a turf peace.”_

Tavio nodded, looking a bit ashamed of himself. The ghost scowled before looking around.

_“Find that gir-agh!”_

“Nope!” Rebecca had finally made her appearance. The other inkling had managed to sneak up onto the central rotating platform while Indira’s team was distracted. Now she pounced, leaping from high above to bring her roller down on the ghost’s head. With an annoyed hiss, the blue inkling dissipated into a cloud of mist that floated off towards the other spawn point.

Tavio hissed as well, a rather malicious sound given his normally meek personality. It was a bit unnerving, but Rebecca shook it off and pushed him away. She then went back to inking turf, forcing the boy back as she did so. The ghost was careful not to cover him with too much ink, however. Killing the octoling was the last thing that she wanted.

_“How’re you doing Moon Peep,”_ she called over her shoulder. On the other side of the map, close to where Rebecca and Lunasa had first met, the female octoling paused at the nickname.

“Moon Peep? Where the shell did that come from,” Lunasa inquired.

_“Well, Luna means moon, and you’re one of my peeps! So you’re Moon Peep!”_

“...okay?” All Lunasa could do at that moment was give a little helpless laugh. Rebecca certainly was a bit odd at times. “I’m doing fine.”

_“Heh heh heh...You are? Then let’s change that…”_

Suddenly another ball of ink flew straight at the octoling, causing her to yelp and dodge to the right. The girl managed to avoid a direct hit, a fortunate thing indeed. However, the splash from the explosion managed to spray some acidic blue ink onto her skin. It immediately began to burn, and a pained yelp escaped the teen.

_“Hm...you’re a fast one despite that cumbersome weapon of yours…_ ” she mused, a sickly triumphant grin on her face. _“A shame that you’ll only be able to dodge for so long. If I cannot have you as my plaything alive, then settling for your death will be the next best thing.”_

“But the turf war isn’t over with yet,” Lunasa protested, trying to stall for time. “There’s still a chance I’ll be your prisoner if you win.”

_“I’m no fool, unlike yourself,”_ the ghost retorted coldly, the mist around her violently writhing in response to her anger. _“Two rollers against a squiffer and a blaster. I knew from the moment we started that the chances of us winning was unlikely. That idiot octoling keeps rebelling against my orders and won’t shoot anyone. Perhaps I should call him over here to kill you instead…”_

_“Yeah um, about that…”_ Rebecca popped up from behind some boxes. _“He ain’t coming to any shooting parties anytime soon.”_

_“So you say.”_

_“Oh I don’t just say, I know,”_ the sunny girl replied brightly. _“I might’ve kinda sorta knocked him out. He’s sleeping like a baby. Ooh, can I call him Baby Peep? Is he a peep? He seems mean but that could just be el grumpo’s bad attitude affecting him.”_

“Yes, he’s friendly,” Lunasa mumbled. “When he’s not possessed anyway…”

_“Great, Baby Peep it is!”_

_“Insolent fool,”_ Indira roared, turning to face Rebecca. _“Why do you and your teammate treat this like a mere game?”_

_“Well, I mean, it is turf war after all. It’s the best kind of sport there is.”_ With a mischievous grin, the girl squidflopped a few times. _“C’mon, squid party with me. It’s lots of fun! Great for relieving stress!”_

_“No.”_

_“Party pooper!”_ The yellow inkling stuck her tongue out before rushing forward to engage Indira in a duel. Back and forth the two ghosts battled, first one gaining the upper hand and then the other. Blasts of ink clashes with large swipes from the roller, littering the ground with yellow and blue. It was a sight to behold, and Lunasa found herself awestruck and the sheer power and skill the two displayed. Rebecca caught her eye before subtly tilting her head in the direction of the center. The meaning was clear. She was being told to go ink turf.

Nodding, the octoling sank down into the ink and swam off. She emerged in the middle of the arena and placed her dynamo on the ground. Charging forward, she began to slowly ink more turf. Without Tavio or Indira there to hinder her, she soon had the blue completely covered in yellow. Lunasa took a moment to catch her breath and survey her work, a proud look on her face. That expression faded, however, once a startled yelp broke the air. Paling, the teenager ran towards the source of the sound. The sight that met her eyes was something that, quite frankly, terrified her.

Rebecca was on the ground, her roller knocked out of her ghostly hands. Indira was standing triumphantly in front of her, the barrel of her grim range blaster thrust right in the other inkling’s face. Completing the picture was a pair of boots sticking out from behind a nearby pile of boxes. That must have been where Rebecca had stashed Tavio after knocking him out.

_“Oh how the mighty have fallen,”_ Indira mocked, a sneer on her face. _“Or it would be like that if it weren’t for the fact that you are the exact opposite of mighty.”_

_“You’re so cocky with that blaster of yours,”_ Rebecca drawled, purposely dragging out her words. _“You know, I bet you wouldn’t be so confident with something else. Wanna switch weapons?”_

_“No way.”_ The midnight blue inkling shook her head, finger tightening on the trigger. _“I’ll just splat you and then go kill your friend. Now might be a good time to say goodbye, or beg for mercy. I honestly don’t care.”_

“Ciao then you arrogant brat!” With that, Lunasa lept high in the air, dynamo roller held high. With a yell she brought it down on Indira, the ghost only managing to turn around and assume a shocked expression before the weapon ripped through her. Blue mist exploded outwards, gradually fading away into nothingness. More mist, the part that had been controlling Tavio, rose up from behind the boxes, similarly vanishing. The octoling landed, breathing heavily before looking over at Rebecca. The inkling had a stunned look on her face, though it quickly morphed into one of delight.

_“That was wicked!”_ She pumped a fist in the air excitedly before squashing Lunasa in another hug. _“You were awesome Moon Peep! One moment she was being all mean and then bam! Moon Peep sweeps in with the dynamo to save the day! Haha, yeah, let’s do it again!”_

“Agh...um...ah…” Lunasa squeaked until Rebecca finally let go of her. ‘I don’t know if the same trick will work twice.”

_“Oh well doesn’t matter,”_ the yellow-tentacled inkling said. _“We won!”_

“...we did?”

_“Yeppers! I’ve been counting since the turf war started,”_ Rebecca replied, idly starting to poke Tavio’s foot. _“Plus Baby Peep doesn’t have that mean mist around him anymore. He should be back to normal once he wakes up! Guess I hit him harder than I thought...whoopsie daisy!”_

“Uh…” Lunasa partially tuned Rebecca out as the girl continued to chatter. Instead, she was focusing on something else. “Rebecca...is it just me, or are you getting paler?”

_“Huh? What? Me? I dunno, I mean, I have been getting plenty of sunlight so…”_

“No, I’m being serious.” The octoling walked over and grabbed onto Rebecca’s wrist, lifting her hand up so the inkling could see it. Sure enough, it was paler than it had been before, the skin almost completely transparent. The fuzzy outline of her body also seemed to be increasing, fading the edges so that they blurred out of sight.

_“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,”_ the teen mumbled with a laugh. _“Oh wait that reminds me, I feel really weird. Is that normal?”_

“How should I know,” Lunasa asked in exasperation as Rebecca floated over to retrieve her roller. “I’ve never met ghosts before.”

_“Too bad. We’re fun to be around. Well, most of us anyway.”_

“...where do you feel weird anyway?”

_“In here.”_ Rebecca gestured towards her heart with one of her hands, the fingers almost completely blurred out of existence. She seemed to be fading at an alarming rate, and suddenly an idea struck the girl.

“Maybe...maybe you’re finally not stuck on this plane of existence anymore,” Lunasa suggested with a hint of hesitancy in her voice. “Maybe by finally finishing that turf war you started all those years ago means that you can go to whatever or wherever cephalopods go when they die.”

_“Oh…”_ Rebecca’s fuzzy shoulders slumped, and a pout appeared on her pale face. _“...but then I won’t be able to play with you anymore…like, at all...”_

“Yeah I know, but think about it,” her friend replied. “You won’t be trapped in this museum anymore. You can be free.”

_“I don’t want to lose my friends though…”_ The ghost sniffled a bit. _“I wanna be able to play with you and Baby Peep again…”_

“You will one day,” Lunasa said reassuringly.

_“...promise?”_

“I promise.”

_“Okay…”_ Rebecca sniffled again, her eyes watering slightly. Without warning, she hugged the girl again. _“You’re the best peep I could ever ask for Moon Peep!”_

“You’re a great friend too, Rebecca,” Lunasa replied, reciprocating the gesture. “I’m going to miss you. Don’t do too many crazy things, you hear? I won’t be around to save you next time.”

_“Aw…”_ Her voice was growing fainter, the ghost’s body almost completely faded out. It was almost impossible to see her now, the girl becoming a faint hazy form. _“But that’s so fun though…”_

“We’ll do plenty of crazy stuff next time we meet up, okay?”

_“Yeah! That’ll be fun! We can pull pranks on people and swap the salt and pepper in restaurants and then we can dump buckets of ink on people and go exploring all sorts of abandoned places and do parkour and fill donuts with mayonnaise and make graffiti and then we can steal cookies and…”_

Her voice faded out as she spoke, finally falling silent. Lunasa watched as the mist that was once the solid form of her friend slowly dissipated. Eventually, it was gone, no longer visible, and the octoling was left holding empty air. With a small, sad sigh the redhead allowed her arms to fall. Despite only knowing the dead girl for a long time, she’d truly miss her. There was just something about the sunny inkling that made her smile.

“Ugh…” A faint groan stirred her from her thoughts, and turning the octoling could see Tavio sitting upright. He had a bleary-eyed look about him, confusion etched into his features as he glanced around.

“What happened…” he asked, taking in the sight of blue and yellow ink strewn everywhere. Lunasa smiled, reaching up to wipe away a few stray tears as she walked over to him. “Lunasa? What’s going on? The last thing I remember is some creepy lady telling me to come to her…”

“Glad to see you’re up and about,” she said. “As for what happened...well, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way home. Ready to get out of here?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been ready to leave the moment we stepped in here,” he replied, slowly standing up. “I looked all over the place for an exit and I couldn’t find one anywhere.”

“Uh...Tavio?”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you use the door on the balcony that we came through?”

“...” The boy groaned and facepalmed. “I’m such an idiot...I didn’t even think of that…”

“H-hey, the important thing is that we’re leaving now,” she replied hurriedly. “Right?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Tavio shivered, looking around the museum in fear. “This place gives me the willies.”

With that, the male octoling began heading for the balcony. Lunasa snickered before turning around to look at the statue behind them. If she concentrated hard enough, the girl could see an image of Rebecca sitting atop it in her mind, the memory of their first meeting. Sighing again, she moved towards it, a bittersweet grin on her face. It was quite a reach from the edge of the platform, but if she stretched Lunasa could just barely lay a hand on the pedestal. The octoling glanced upwards, staring at the statue’s carved face.

“Goodbye, Rebecca,” she whispered softly. “I’ll miss you.”

“Hey!” Tavio’s shout caused her to jump, and the poor girl almost lost her balance. “Why are you hanging around that statue? Come on let’s get out of here! I want to go home.”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your tentacles in a twist,” Lunasa muttered before shifting into an octopus and super jumping to Tavio’s location. The boy glared at her for a moment, causing her to adopt an innocent look. He sighed and shook his head before exiting the turf war arena through the door. Lunasa moved to follow him, only to pause and look behind her. Rebecca’s statue was barely visible in the darkness, but she could just make out the beautifully sculpted inkling.

Smiling, she lifted a hand in one last wave before leaving the room behind. Once more the turf war arena was silent, the ink from the final fight slowly evaporating. Soon everything was as it had been before, a decrepit and empty museum, slowly dying as the hands of time aged the structure away.

_“Tee hee~ Thanks for the fun times, Moon Peep! I’m glad I got to know you! See ya next time I see ya!”_

One more faint laugh and then the structure above the door suddenly crumbled, blocking off the room for good.


End file.
